On March 11, when the Union government notified the rules for the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, just days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, there was little doubt about its real intent. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with an eye on votes, proudly owned the move, the reaction of its Kerala unit has been muted given the significant minority population in the State.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala was quick to criticise the CAA and place itself as the bulwark against the Sangh Parivar’s designs, followed by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), even though both the fronts called the notification a diversion from the electoral bonds issue. While the LDF government reiterated that the CAA and the National Register of Citizens will not be implemented in Kerala, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K. Sudhakaran said that the CAA will be “thrown into the Arabian Sea” if INDIA comes to power.
All of a sudden, every other election issue, whether the LDF’s campaign over the Union government’s alleged financial embargo of Kerala or the UDF’s long list of complaints about the State government, seem to have been pushed to the background with the CAA taking the spotlight. Over the past week, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has addressed anti-CAA rallies in various districts. The UDF has also been organising protest marches, especially in the northern districts, which have a higher concentration of minorities.
